An ironic but a purposeful choice of quote. Yesterday I choose to be silent on social media as my part on International Women’s Day, a sort of, “Be careful what you wish for”. Every woman should be a feminist and want to celebrate women but it’s the not women voices that make a real difference. Stay with me.

It’s the people who are not women that make it all more possible for equality. If protests have taught me anything, it’s when the people who are not being oppressed see the ludicrousness that real change starts to happen. It’s not about being for one sex over another, it’s simply recognizing we are both people and its fucking stupid not to stand up for the rights of another human being.

As a business owner I have to be aware of what side my business takes, if any. There was a point that I struggled with how much to reveal. Do I keep my brand separate from me as a person? Do I swear as a brand? Because as a person, I swear a whoooole lot. Do I have separate instagram accounts? Where does my brand start and I as a person, end?

I went back and forth on this many times. It all changed after an article on Startup Fashion (tried to find to no avail), I finally chose. The article read if I were to be honest (and I am honestly a person who says fuck) and if I was looking to keep my brand authentic, I would use my own voice. Authentic attracts authentic. I love creating in my house and making things but I always struggle with the marketing aspect. It makes me feel silly, pushy and fake. When I feel things are fake I lose interest as a brand and a consumer. I have no time for inauthenticity.

So onto where I’m really heading. In the last few weeksmonths year our political climate is mirroring our actual climate; Shit is getting pretty scary. I have had to choose a side, not such a hard choice. I had to choose my level of involvement and where I feel comfortable posting my opinions and my involvements.

I’ve had to make some choices. My facebook has 2 sides my brand & me as a person. Pretty easy choice as far as that goes. My personal facebook posts are filled with scathing political rants. My brand remains filled with posts about art, women, and relatively passive posts. I have 1 Twitter and 1 Instagram. My original thought was I didn’t want to deal with 2 separate accounts and don’t post enough on either to support 2 accounts. My Twitter account is mostly brand stuff with my personal mixed in. My Instagram is brand stuff but much more personal. Then as the political climate heated up, much like our changing climate -how poetic. My social media has taken a turn.

As I got more involved, I got more pissed. Partially fueled by my anger at what has become normal, partially decided by it was becoming harder to hide.

Fuck it.

I knew my choices as a consumer were becoming more defined by companies and the stances they took. I cheered when a designer upon getting an order from Ivanka Trump also let her know her purchase would be going right into the Hillary Clinton campaign. I would simply be a hypocrite if I hid myself. So here the fuck I am.

I am a woman business owner who refuses to let my country be sacrificed to a dictator and all his little whims. This election was fucking bloody.

We are all in a mortal battle for all that is right and wrong and it goes far beyond political parties. A madman fed on the anger of a nation and is selling them what they think they wanted, someone to blame.

Nope doesn’t sound at all familiar….

The majority spoke. The majority was ignored. Our country is sick. The people who show up on the street, people who refuse to not sit back and watch the ugliness from their TVs are the fucking heros. We have a lot of true life heroes these days. Good thing because we have a hell of a lot of villains. I am so tired of “my side” as being classified as lazy, whiny and jobless.

I will be on the front lines. I will be loud. I will get into uncomfortable conversations with those I love as well as complete strangers. I don’t fucking care if someone has no interest in buying from my business because I think all people have the same rights and that I care about life, not just while it’s in the womb. If you want to know where I stand, ASK. I will most certainly tell you. I will not be silent, muted or uninvolved.

My business is my child and I refuse to raise a child that has no opinion-

Sometimes motivation comes from unexpected sources. The best way to motivate myself is to tell a bunch of people what I’m going to do, then I HAVE to do it or I’m gonna be a liar. Want me to accomplish something? Tell me I can’t. It doesn’t mean I don’t fail but at least I can’t be accused of not trying.

“Somebody said it couldn’t be done.

But he with a chuckle replied,

That maybe it couldn’t, but he would be oneWho wouldn’t say so ’till he’d tried.So he buckled right in with a trace of a grinOn his face. If he worried, he hid it.He started to sing as he tackled the thingThat couldn’t be done. And he did.

Somebody scoffed, “Oh, you’ll never do thatAt least no one ever has done it.”But he took off his coat, and he took off his hat,And the first thing we know, he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,Without any doubting or “quit-it”.He started to sing as he tackled the thingThat couldn’t done. And he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done.There are thousands to prophesy failure.There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,>The dangers that wait to assail you

But just buckle in, with a bit of a grin;Just take off your coat and go to it.Just start in to sing as you tackle the thingThat cannot be done–and you’ll do it!” ― Edgar A. Guest

It just has everything good in a quote- Inspiration, Dreams, Maya Angelou, the word “lapels” & swearing. Perfection. A great way to commence my quotable posts aka “because Mondays suck” coined by Josie -my favorite intern.